Guide means for stackable receptacle



Oct. 29, 1968 J. A. RoGus GUIDE MEANS FOR STACKABLE RECEPTACLE 2Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 26, 1967 s R.s Y .ou w: T NWO N E R V WR. @mA T MA ze.,

Oct. 29, 1968 J. A. ROGUS v 3,407,960

GUIDE MEANS FOR STACKABLE RECEPTACLE Fixed April 26, 1967 2 sheets-sneer2 d d .a4

INVENTOR.

Josep/r A. Regus A rroRNL-vq United States Patent() GUIDE MEANSFORSTACKABLE RECEPTACLE' -Joseph A. Rogus, Willowick, Ohio, assignor toMid-West Metallic Products, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of OhioFiled Apr. 26, 1967, Ser. No. 633,795 Claims. A(Cl. 220-97) ABSTRACT 0FTHE DISCLOSURE A receptacle adapted for tiering and nesting with a likereceptacle is provided with a planar shelf extending along the top oftwo parallel side walls and an upstanding rib along each shelf. rI woshoes extend downwardly from the bottom, one each under each side wallat one end in position to ride on the shelf of a lower receptacle andclosely adjacent the outside of each upstanding rib. The shelves areinclined downwardly in such a way at one end that as an operator slidesthe shoes of an upper receptacle along the shelves of a lowerreceptacle, tiering supports on the bottom of the upper receptacle areheld out of engagement with coacting tiering supports near the upperedge of the lower receptacle until the shoes reach the inclined shelfportions, when the tiering supports drop smoothly into engagement.

Specification This invention relates to guide means for stockablereceptacles and more particularly to means for aiding an operator toreadily stack or tier an upper receptacle above a like lower receptaclehaving interengaging tiering support portions, without the operatorhaving to see all of the parts or to do an unusual amount ofmanipulation in order to stack the parts in the proper position.Specifically, the invention provides a receptacle having opposedparallel side walls with one shoe projecting from the bottom at the endof each side wall most remote from the operator or 'receptacle handler,these shoes adapted to ride on a planar shelf provided along the upperedge of each of the side walls of the lower receptacle, together with anupstanding rib extending longitudinally of those side walls, the partsbeing so arranged that the shoes of the upper receptacle, in thepreferred embodiment, ride on the laterally outermost side of the rib asthe handler moves the upper receptacle to a registering position abovethe lower receptacle. The arrangement is such that the tiering supportportions are held out of engagement by the shoes riding on theshelvesuntil registering position of the upper receptacle over the lowerreceptacle is almost attained, at which time the parts are so arrangedthat the shoes run oif of the planar shelf portions and allow thetiering support portions of the two receptacles to engage each other andhold the receptacles in stacked or tiered relationship. In a preferredform of the invention, a short horizontal guide means is providedleading smoothly to each of the uppertiering support port-ions of thelower receptacle and when the upper receptacle is dropped down towardthe lower receptacle, the lower tiering support portions of the upperreceptacle engage these short horizontal guide means of the lowerreceptacle after which the upper receptacle slides easily into fullytiered position.

Other advantages of this invention will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and description and the essential features are setforth in the appended claims.`

In thedrawings,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a receptacle according to the presentinvention;

- FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of a plural-ity of the receptaclesof this invention in stacked or tiered relationship; i

3,407,960 Patented Oct. 29, 1968 Mice FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 are views takenfrom the right-hand side of FIG. 1 and showing the progressive movementof an upper like receptacle into tiered or stacked relationship with thelower receptacle; v

FIG. 6` is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG.1;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view taken from the right-hand side of FIG. l,enlarged, from the position of the line 7-7 of that figure;

FIG. 8 is an end elevational v-iew taken from the lefthand end of FIG. 7and showing in dot-dash lines a portion of an upper receptacle; l

FIG. 9 is a fragmental view taken toward the right-hand end of FIG. 7and showing an upper receptaclefbeing started toward a stacked positionon the lower receptacle;

while FIGS. l() and 1l are fragmental elevational views showing theupper portion of the lower receptacle as in FIG. 7, together with thelower portion of an upper receptacle moving from the position of FIG. 9through FIGS. l0 and 1l to a nal stacked or tiered relationship with theupper receptacle in registration over the lower receptacle.

It should be understood that this invention may be applied to differentdesigns of stackable receptacles, but is here shown as applied to atierable and nestable receptacle which is the subject matter of acopending application of Joseph A. Rogus, Ser. No. 581,317, led Sept.22, 1966. The receptacles here shown are almost exactly like that shownin FIGS. 13 through 16 of the above mentioned copending patentapplication except for the modification to utilize the present inventionas will presently appear.

The basic receptacle has a bottom 15 with parallel upstanding side walls16 rigidly secured to the bottom 15. Between the side walls at the rearend of the container is a shorter upstanding hollow end wall 17 and atthe front of the container is a still shallower hollow end wall 18; Theend walls are rigidly secured both to the bottom and to the side walls.

Interengaging tiering support portions are provided for holding onereceptacle in stacked or tiered relationship above a like lowerreceptacle. These are shown as upper tiering support portions 19, 20 and21 on the inside of each side wall near the top and lower tieringsupport portions 19a, 20a and 21a on the outsiqle of each side wall nearthe bottom thereof. These tiering support portions are rigid with theadjacent side wall. Preferably, these tiering support portions providean upwardly opening pocket at 19, 2() and 21 and downwardly extendingprojections at 19a, 20a and 21a adapted to enter respectively into thepockets above them. Referring to FIG. yS, it will be seen that each ofthe pockets 19, etc., is vertically directly above its associatedlprojecting member 19, etc., and that when the tiering support portionsare interengaged, they lock the two receptacles against relativemovement sidewise and endwise all as described in the above mentionedcopending application.

It will be noted that rigid with the side walls are reinforcing ribs 22on the inside as clearly shown in FIG. 6 and also on the outside asshown at 23 in FIG. 7.

It will be noted that the lower tiering support portions 20a and 21ahave hook members 24 which lock beneath the keeper shoulders 25 of theupper tiering support portions 20 and 21 as clearly shown in FIG. 16 ofthe above mentioned copending patent application. The lower tieringsupport portion 19a has a downwardly extending triangular Iprojection 26which ts into a complementary pocket 27 in the upper tiering supportportion 19 as clearly shown in other views of the copending patentapplication.

j To the above mentioned receptacle, the present invention is added. Asclearly shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, along almost the entire upper edge ofeach of the side walls 16 there is extends a planar shelf portion 28which extends horizontally outwardly from an upstanding rib 29, thesetwo parts coacting with a downwardly extending shoe 30 of which there isone at one end only of each side wall extending downwardly from thebottom. Referring to FIG. 8, the shoes 30 on the opposite side walls areso arranged that they rest with slight clearance on the laterally outersides of the associated upstandingribs 29. Therefore, once the shoes 30are engaged laterally outside of the ribs 29, motion of the upperreceptacle from the position of FIG. 9 to that of FIG. 11 can proceedwithout danger of getting E the track. The arrangement as shown in FIGS.8, 9 and 10 is such that the rib 29, the shoe 30 and the shoulder 30awhich may be regarded as a functioning portion of the shoe hold thelower tiering support portions, including the projections 24 and 26, outof engagement with the corresponding upper pockets 20, 21 and 19. Inthis position of the parts, the upper receptacle may be moved from theposition of FIGS. 3 and 9 through the positions of FIGS. 4 and 10without interengagement of the tiering support portions.

Means is provided to allow the tiering support portions of the tworeceptacles to interengage as they move from the positions of FIGS. 4and 10 to the position of FIGS. 5 and 11. Note at the right-hand end ofFIG. 6 and the left-hand ends of FIGS. 7, and l1 that an inclined shelfportion 28a is provided with the rib 29 inclined in a like manner asshown at 29a so that when the shoe 30 and shoulder 30a arrive at thisend of their travel, the shoe 30 and associated shoulder drop off of theinclined portions 28a and 29a as shown in FIG. 11, permitting thetiering support portions of the upper receptacle to drop to interlockinglevel.

As an aid in guiding the tiering support portions into their finalposition, each of the upper tiering support portions is provided with ashort horizontal guide means 31 which is like that shown in FIG. 16 ofthe above mentioned copending patent application. Each of the guidemeans 31 leads smoothly into the corresponding pocket at 19, 20 and 21.As shown in FIG. 10, as the shoe 30, and its associated shoulder, movedown the inclined parts 28a and 29a, the depending portions 24 and 26 ofthe lower tiering support portions lie above the horizontal `guide means31 in each case so that the nal movement from the position of FIG. 10 tothat of FIG. 11 consists of sliding of the depending parts 24 and 26 onthe associated horizontal guide means 31 until lfinal locking positionis achieved. At the left-hand end of FIG. 10 there will be seen a stopmember 32 associated with the upper tiering support portion 19. When thelower tiering support portion 19a strikes this stop member 32, theoperator knows that he has reached a completely stacked position of thetwo receptacles. At this point, the operator drops his end of thereceptacle which he has 1been holding tilted as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 9and 10.

As a further aid to the operator, a cam piece 33 may be provided on thebottom of the receptacle extending downwardly and spaced laterallyinwardly from the associated shoe 30. This position of the parts isclearly seen in FIG. 8. Each cam piece is inclined downwardly andoutwardly to a shoulder 33a toward the associated shoe. The action ofthese parts is as follows. As the operator moves the upper receptacle toapproach the position of FIG. 9, he may hold the side wall 16 of theupper receptacle laterally outside of the similar side wall of the lowerreceptacle. Then as he brushes the upper receptacle across the lowerreceptacle in the direction of the arrow of FIG. 8, the cam piece 33will cam that side wall of the upper receptacle upwardly until shoulder33a passes the upstanding rib 29 of the lower receptacle, after whichthis rib of the lower receptacle will be caught between the shoulder 33aand the shoe 30, after which the operator can lower the opposite side ofthe receptacle knowing that with the rst engaged shoe 30 against itsassociated rib 29, the shoe and rib on the opposite side of thereceptacle will fall into the same coordinated position.

It should be understood that an upper receptacle may be passed fromtiering position above a lower receptacle down to a nesting positiontherein by moving the lower tiering support portions of the upperreceptacle down through the passageways in the lower receptacleindicated by the arrows in FIG. 6, in the same manner as described inthe above mentioned copending application.

What is claimed is:

1. In a receptacle adapted to be tiered with a second like receptaclehaving a bottom and two upstanding parallel side walls rigid with saidbottom, and having upper tiering support portions spaced along each ofsaid side walls near the upper edge thereof, and having lower tieringsupport portions near the bottom of said side walls, each lower supportportion being directly vertically below a corresponding upper supportportion; means for guiding an lupper receptacle into tiering positionover a lower receptacle comprising a horizontally extending planar shelfportion extending substantially along the entire length of the top ofeach of said side walls, said shelves having portions downwardlyinclined from said planar portions at theends thereof remote from areceptacle handler, shoe portions on the lower edges of said side wallsat said same remote ends thereof, said shoe portions being at a verticalheight to prevent engagement of coacting upper and lower tiering supportportions of two receptacles when the shoe portions of an upperreceptacle rest on the planar shelf portions of a lower receptacle, saidinclined shelf portions being so located and descending sufhcientlybelow said planar shelf portions to guide said shoe portions downwardlyto enable engagement of coacting upper and lower tiering supportportions of two receptacles when said receptacles are in verticalregistration, and means slidably engageable between the upper edges ofthe side walls of a lower receptacle and the lower edges of an upperreceptacle to maintain registering Side walls against lateral deviationas said shoe portions slide along said shelf portions, whereby areceptacle handler may place said shoe portions of an upper receptacleon s aid planar shelf portions of a lower receptacle While tilting thebottom of said upper receptacle upwardly toward himself away from saidshoe portions, then slide said shoe portions of said upper receptaclealong said planar shelf portions of said lower receptacle to anddownwardly along said inclined shelf portions thereof whereupon saidcoacting tiering support portions will automatically engage.

2. Means for guiding an upper receptacle into tiering position over alower like receptacle as defined in claim 1, wherein said means tomaintain registering side walls against lateral deviation comprises alinear upstanding rib extending longitudinally of each side wall abovesaid planar shelf portion, and said shoe portions on opposite side wallsare spaced to lie reasonably snugly on laterally opposite sides of therespective ribs as said shoe portions of an upper receptacle slide alongsaid planar shelf p0rtions of a lower receptacle.

3. Guiding means as defined in claim 2 wherein said shoe portions of anupper receptacle lie laterally outside the associated upstanding rib.

4. Guiding means as defined in claim 3 including a cam piece on thebottom of said receptacle extending downwardly therefrom and spacedlaterally inwardly from an associated shoe, and each said cam pieceinclined downwardly and outwardly to a shoulder toward an associatedshoe and camming that side wall of an upper receptacle upwardly as it ismoved laterally toward registering position over a lower like receptacleand dropping the associated shoe in position laterally outside anassociated guiding rib.

5. Means for guiding an upper receptacle into tiering position over alower like receptacle as defined in claim 1, including generallyhorizontal guide means extending from each of said upper tiering supportportions a short distance longitudinally of its associated side walltoward the receptacle handler from said remote ends, each said guidemeans having a surface leading smoothly to its associated upper tiering`support portion and the length of said guide means being suicient tounderlie said lower tiering support portions of an upper receptacle whensaid shoe portions of said upper receptacle pass onto said inclindershelf portions of said lower receptacle, after which the handler maylower his supported end of the upper receptacle and said lower tieringsupport portions of said upper receptacle will follow said guide meansto engagement with said upper tiering support portions of said lowerreceptacle.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/ 1967 Paxton 220-97 X 9/1967Tucker 211-126 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

G. E. LOWRANCE, Assistant Examiner.

